Another Tomorrow
by Valiantgloom
Summary: Fallout 4 story with female sole survivor. I wanted to breathe a bit more life into the fallout 4 world. Will not follow game exactly all the time. Basically the story follows an in-depth view of the sole survivor, and will eventually be a sole survivor/Piper romance pairing. This is the story of how someone deals with the emotional toll of losing everything, and building back up.
1. Chapter 1

She gasped as her vision cleared from the harsh glare of the sun. Logically she knew that the atomic bombs fell, had felt the blast of heat and wind as one had detonated in Boston just before she and her family had been lowered into the vault. That knowledge still didn't prepare her for the devastation she saw as far as the eye could see. The landscape was nothing but endless sickly yellows and browns of dead vegetation and burnt topsoil.

She could see Sanctuary Hills below, and how even from here she could see the dilapidated neighborhood she had once called home. On the homes still standing there were giant holes in the walls and roofs, and she thought she could see an entire house completely collapsed in on itself. Shakily she looks down at her Pip-Boy. She had hoped that the system had malfunctioned in some way, and the date had been wrong. Two-hundred and ten years _exactly_ since she had entered the vault. She hadn't believed it at first, but seeing the world around her now made the possibility all the more real. She still held the hope that the machine was wrong…just not much of it.

Almost in a daze she turned and searched the immediate area for anything that looked useful. Vaguely she was hoping for more ammo for the pistol she had found- the giant cockroaches she had killed were a horrifying sign that the wildlife would be almost monstrous. She found a few medical supplies- hopefully the liquid inside them was not irradiated- and slipped them into a pocket on her jumpsuit. After scrounging everything she thought would be useful together she took a steadying breath and began the short trek down the hill to return to what was once her home.

Stepping between the houses after the small bridge she could really see the disrepair of the homes. She looked around cautiously, but there didn't seem to be anybody around. Turning to the left she made her way up the street back toward the house she used to own. As she got closer she could see movement in front of the wrecked house and she laughed in disbelief.

"Codsworth?!" She hurried over as the robot turned to her. The three mechanical eyes flickered up and down excitedly.

"Mum! It-it's _really_ you!" The way his robotic arms moved made her think that if he could have he would have wrapped her in a hug. Given the buzz saw attached to one arm she was glad he couldn't. His presence, and his default posh British voice brought a small smile to her face.

"You're still here. So there must be other people around, right?"

"Surely you didn't think a little radiation would deter the pride of a General Atomics International robot. However, you do seem a little the worse for wear. Mustn't let the hubby see you in such a state now. Where…is he by the way?"

Her stomach clenched in grief. She reached in her pocket and wrapped her hand around the wedding ring she had taken off of…off of his body. Her throat closed painfully at the thought.

"He's…in a better place," she choked out over the lump in her throat.

The conversation devolved from there. Codsworth seemed to be completely ignoring the fact that the world was destroyed, and that Nate was…gone, and he refused to acknowledge that their son Shaun had been kidnapped. She mostly ignored his comments about hunger induced paranoia and the suggestion that a game of checkers might make her feel better. She only focused fully on the conversation when Codsworth mentioned how long she must have gone without proper nutrition.

"You're two hundred years late for dinner," he said with a mechanical chuckle. His next words were drowned out by the sudden rushing sound in her ears.

"Two hundred _years?_ " she said quietly. It was true, the Pip-boy hadn't been malfunctioning. She couldn't tell herself that two different machines had the same defect in their calendar.

"Two hundred and ten give or take a few years accounting for the Earth's rotation and a few knocks to the ol' chronometer, ha ha ha."

"Codsworth, are you ok? You're acting… a little weird." His jovial attitude was beginning to worry-bother- her. Her eyes widened slightly when he began to do what she assumed was the robotic way of crying.

The next few minutes were full of a tear-?- filled account for how the poor butler had spent the past two centuries. He had remained faithful to the family and tried to care for the house as best he could, but as she could imagine it was very difficult to get nuclear fallout out of wood flooring. After she had managed to calm him down he perked right back up with a suggestion to search the neighborhood for Nate and Shaun. She agreed -if only for him- and they went through some of the homes. She had been completely disgusted by the mutated flies they had come across, and she made sure to shoot them as quickly as possible after the first one had shot some vomit inducing mass out of its ass at her.

If the bugs were this large she didn't even want to imagine what other creatures looked like. Codsworth seemed to finally understand that Nate and Shaun weren't around, and he pointed her towards Concord in the hopes that someone there might be able to help her find the people who took Shaun.

After that she mainly wandered the neighborhood, one part of her processing everything that had happened in the past what had felt like to her a mere scattering of hours. To her it was still the same day the bombs fell, the same day they went into the vault, the same day Nate was murdered and Shaun kidnapped. Going back into her old home and seeing how it was basically an empty shell of what it used to be she sat on the dirty, run down couch and curled up so her head was buried in her knees with her arms wrapped tightly about her shins. Everything crashed down on her at once, and she sat there and cried. She cried for everything she lost, everything the world had lost. She cried until she was empty; as empty as this broken house was. Just like her old home she was nothing but a shell of a person; nothing but the broken down remnants of what it once was.

This new world she had woken up in had managed to break her apart completely in the span of a few hours. As she lay down on the couch, exhaustion and grief finally overtaking her, she had no idea if she was up to the task of whatever tomorrow might bring.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! I forgot to put any author's notes on the first chapter. It was really only meant to be a prologue, that's why it's so short. I do mess with a few things, so not everything will be true to the game. Basically I just wanted to give a deeper look into the Sole Survivor, show the emotions as how I could see a person who wakes up after 200 years feeling. I always hated how the only shock to the creatures of the wasteland is in the vault with the cockroaches. Like, the cockroaches shock you, but literally the dozens of other completely deadly creatures don't faze you a bit? And I hate how the female sole survivor just picks up a gun and is an expert with it right off the bat. So I provided my own backstory to her as well that isn't so far outside of the realm of possibility, but isn't really mentioned directly in the game.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

She crossed the damaged bridge slowly. She had woken up just as the sun had begun to rise and had decided to salvage what she could from the ruins of the old homes of her former neighbors. She pushed her emotions aside letting the more pragmatic part of her brain take over to help her sift through the ruins of her world. It was a trick she had learned in the military, one of the first things that was beaten into them during basic training. She had never been deployed for active service, but had instead joined the reserves. Nate had been the true soldier between them, having already completed half of his four year service in active combat when they met.

One thing she was extremely grateful for right now was that basic training teaches you how to push your emotions to the background. Doesn't mean you don't still feel them, it's just that you're able to function and deal with the emotions later. It was what was getting her through right now. She needed to move, so she pushed away anything else.

Coming to the end of the bridge she came across two bodies on the ground. One was obviously human, but the second as a little harder to identify. In the end she decided it was a dog, but it was completely hairless and emaciated to the point that she could count every vertebra in its back and every rib in its side. Studying the pitiful creature she decided that the poor things existence just looked painful; the lack of outer jowls to cover its teeth or any nose to protect its sinus cavity made her think that beyond the obvious radiation it had a slew of other medical issues.

She took the tire iron that had been stabbed into its side out and moved both bodies into the dried grass on the side of the road. She found some ammo and a crude pistol that looked to be made of a wood post and scrap metal on the man. She didn't know how she would carry both the wooden pistol and her 10mm, but then she caught sight of a duffel bag on the ground a few feet away. Inside she found some more ammo and medical supplies, and placing her new gun inside she slung the bag across her back and continued on.

She made the bend towards the Red Rocket truck stop and as she got closer she heard the distinctive bark of a dog. She reached for her pistol just in case, but the German shepherd that ran up to her showed no signs of aggression. The dog gave a sad whine, so she crouched down to run her fingers through its fur.

"What's wrong boy? You lose your owner?" Another sad whine was her answer. "Do you wanna come with me boy?"

The dog gave a happy bark and she felt a small smile stretch her lips. It felt tight on her face, but genuine. "Then let's go."

As they began to walk towards the entrance of the truck stop she felt a small rumbling in the ground under feet. The dog crouched low and a growl issued from his throat as he snarled. She quickly drew her 10mm just as something burst out of the ground a few feet in front of her.

"What the fu-?!" She cut off as the hideous creature ran at her, huge teeth on its upper and lower jaw gave way to a smaller set of blunt teeth on the inside of its mouth. She got a quick look at its beady, pupil less eyes before the dog lunged to intercept it. She heard more rumbling sounds around her and she shook off her shock and raised her pistol in preparation.

For the next few minutes they fought the creatures, the dog being immensely helpful as he would hold one of the creatures down long enough for her to get a fatal shot in. When it was all over she sat down on the ground with a huff as her heart beat slowed back down. The dog came to sit in front of her and she patted his head gratefully.

"Were we just attacked by naked beavers?" Her guess was based purely off of the large front incisors the creatures had. Taking a closer look, she dismissed that notion, and she realized that the she recognized what they were.

"Naked mole rats? How in the hell- no…I'm not even going to question it." She decided right then that she would just have to accept anything she saw if she wanted to keep her sanity in this new world. She searched the truck stop briefly and decided to eat a small can of Potato Crisps she found. She would have find real food soon, but for now the snack would be enough to keep her going.

She read the terminal that was surprisingly still active in the office area and made a note to come back and check out the small cave mentioned when she had a bit more ammo to spare just in case. Putting what little she could find in her duffel she headed back down the road towards Concord.

The dog barked as a carcass of some kind came into view. It was a little hard to see given that the poor things skin color matched the faded and cracked asphalt fairly well. As she got closer something lifted off the body and began to hover in the air. She felt her stomach drop as she realized it was a giant mosquito.

"This is my nightmare," she repeated the phrase with a bit more emphasis as the giant needle with wings started to fly at her. She didn't want to waste any bullets, so she was forced to let the bug get closer before she began firing. It took a total of three well placed shots to the things abdomen to put it down. It must have a thickened exoskeleton to make it so durable. In curiosity she reached down and was able to pull the proboscis off the creature. It was completely solid and inflexible with a sharp point on the edge.

"Think this could be used as a weapon boy?" she asked the dog. He gave a happy bark, so she took that as a yes. She figured anything might help if she needed it. She slipped the possible weapon through a band on her suit for easy access.

The buildings in Concord seemed to have held up well, but two hundred years of neglect, radiation, and most likely looting had definitely taken its toll on the small town. Debris littered the streets, and she had the unsettling feeling like she was walking through a macabre museum of American history.

Rusted out cars still lined some of the streets, waiting on people who were long dead. It saddened her to see it this way, to her it had only been two days since she had driven into Concord and felt the same excitement as everyone else at the opening of the Museum of Freedom. There were still banners and decorations hanging on some of the buildings which were eerily celebratory against the destroyed setting. The now muted, dirty blues and reds standed out almost harshly against the gray environment.

Getting closer to the center of town she heard the distinctive pop of gunfire, and the low droning sound of an energy weapon. Some sort of rifle if she had to guess based on how low the pitch was. Crouching down between two buildings she edged forward; slightly amused and appreciative when the dog also hunched a bit to make himself lower to the ground.

"Good boy," she whispered before she edged up to look around the corner towards the commotion.

There were about six people on the ground taking shots at a lone man on the balcony of the Museum of Freedom who was returning fire with a laser weapon as she thought. The six on the ground were all dressed relatively the same- that is to say not very much. Looking at them all she could see was that they all had a thing for the color brown. Brown clothing interspersed with the darker brown of leather that they had strapped to their limbs in varying degrees. The lone man on the balcony appeared to be wearing a uniform of some kind, but he was too far away to see for sure.

She struggled with herself. Did she jump into the confrontation, or did she just walk away now? She had never killed anyone before, could she do it now to defend someone she didn't know? She wasn't even sure what side to join; although she was leaning more towards the guy with the laser rifle. Something about the people on the ground gave her a bad feeling, and judging by the low growl next to her, her furry friend felt the same way.

She wanted to leave, told her body to back up and move away. Instead she watched the lone figure on the balcony continue to fight even though he was severely outnumbered. The man continued to fire his laser rifle, and showed no signs of stopping.

One of the figures in the leather clothing called out to the man. "I'm only gonna tell ya this once! Just give up!"

She flinched as the words reached her. They were almost the same as they had been in the vault. "I'm only going to say this once, let the boy go." Her fists clenched as she remembered the sound of the gunshot that killed Nate. The man's menacing voice as he had stepped up to her pod before she had refroze.

Before she could think things through she stepped out into the street. Aiming at the man who had just spoken she fired; watched as his body fell limp to the ground as blood sprayed out of the bullet hole in the side of his head. The other figures all turned around as they're friend fell dead to the ground. Her dog had already dashed forward with a snarl before they turned, and one of them was unlucky enough to turn and catch a face full of teeth as the dog jumped into the attack.

She fired at another and managed to clip their shoulder before she had to dive behind a red truck for cover as the remaining people turned and returned fire. A few bullets hit the truck she was hiding behind, and she saw a glow form from underneath.

"That can't be good," she deadpanned to herself. Luckily the man on the balcony started firing again, distracting the shooters enough that she ran from the truck back into the open. The red truck burst into flames behind her in a small explosion. Running up to the distracted group she saw that her dog had a hold on someone's leg, keeping them for the most part immobile. She aimed, fired, and another fell dead to the ground.

One of them charged at her with a tire iron in their hands. She ducked the first swing, but caught a second clumsy swing in the shoulder. She grit her teeth against the pain to raise her arm and fire at the figure. Two shots to the chest and they went down. She heard a high pitched yelp, and turned to see that two of the remaining three assailants were kicking her dog.

She picked up the fallen tire iron and charged in. She caught one of them across the back of the head.

"Don't you touch my dog!" The man fell, either dead or unconscious. The second raised his own crude pistol at her, but she threw the tire iron at him. It hit him right in the face and he stumbled back in pain and shock. She rushed forward and grabbed him by the leather strap across his chest. She turned and pulled him to send him stumbling to the ground next to the still burning truck.

Just as he was trying to get back to his feet the truck exploded, much bigger than the first time. Her eyes widened in shock, and she stumbled back a bit as the shockwave from the blast hit her. The man never made it back to his feet, and she saw from here that one of his legs had been blown clean off from his proximity to the blast. She swallowed convulsively at the sight and quickly turned away.

The last one left of the group was a woman who was now staring at her in fear. The woman suddenly holstered her weapon and turned.

"This is crazy!"

She watched as the woman ran away, and made sure she was far enough away before she turned to check on the dog. He was sitting up, but he was whining as he tried to put pressure on his front left paw.

"Shhh boy, it's going to be okay." She quickly set her duffel to the ground and reached inside. She studied the stimpak for a moment, but decided that it couldn't honestly work much different on animals as it did humans. She gave him the shot and pet his fur for a few moments before he was able to stand on four feet again. Glad to see the effect of the medicine hadn't diminished in the past two-hundred years she got to her feet and began walking towards the museum. When she was close the man on the balcony called down to her.

"Hey you! Grab that Laser Musket on the ground and come help. I have civilians in here and the raiders are almost through the door!"

Before she could reply he disappeared into the building. "Laser musket?"

She walked closer and saw the body of a young woman wearing a blue and tan uniform. On the ground next to her was a weapon and a few micro fusion cells. Picking up the rifle she studied it for a moment. It was well made, if a bit obviously by hand with spare parts. There was a crank on the side of the stock that she turned and a red beam suddenly ran through the 'barrel' with a low hum. Giving it another crank the hum got louder. Feeling that she understood how the weapon worked she walked up the steps and into the building.

* * *

She stared at the security gate in confusion. Having fought through the 'raiders' as Preston Garvey called them she had met the hapless group of people that had been holed up in the building trying to survive. Preston had explained all the dangers they had faced since having to leave Quincy- and learning about feral ghouls was a haunting idea. From what she gathered they were mindless humans who attacked anybody on sight because radiation had burned any intelligence out of them.

Their resident handyman Sturges had an idea to get past all the raiders outside, and while it was a good plan, she wasn't sure how to go about completing it. She agreed that using the power armor and minigun left on the vertibird was a solid plan, but she just wasn't sure how to go about getting the fusion core from the security cage. She would either need to pick the lock, or hack the computer; two things she only knew how to do in theory.

She looked down at Dogmeat- so named according to Mama Murphy- and quirked an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you know how to pick locks, do you?"

Dogmeat tilted his head a bit and she smirked. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

Moving to the terminal she activated the password selection function. She knew she only had a few tries before the system would lock her out so she cautiously guessed her first word. She blinked when the password was accepted and she received the option to unlock the gate.

"Well that was lucky," she said to Dogmeat as she retrieved the fusion core. The next few minutes found her on the roof in front of the big piece of armor. She hadn't seen a suit of Power Armor since her days in basic training. They were all taught the rudimentary function of the armor, but she had never actually been inside a suit herself.

"Well, here goes nothing."

Plugging the fusion core into the back and turning the hatch wheel she watched as the suit opened itself. She stepped carefully into the frame and when her limbs were all in place the suit closed around her. The display on the helmet took a moment to boot up, but otherwise everything looked to be in working order. She took a few cautious steps, and was surprised at just how responsive the mechanized suit was to her actions.

"I guess this tinman doesn't need an oil can." Her comment caused another small smile to stretch her lips, but only briefly. Sighing she stepped up through the downed aircraft and found the minigun on its mount. Ripping it off was surprisingly easy, and she hefted the weapon easily at her side. Stepping up to the edge of the building she looked down at the street below. She could see a few of the raiders gathered in the street before one of them caught sight of her, inciting all of them to begin firing their weapons at her.

A few bullets pinged off of her suit, but she herself took no damage. The display that showed the armor health flickered slightly to show which pieces were being damaged, but the color didn't change which would indicate serious damage.

"Well alright then."

Remembering what she learned about power armor she leaped off the roof and braced her legs for impact. She landed on the ground with a thunderous boom, and she felt the impact shockwave throughout the entire suit. She had to give the shocks in the legs a second to recover from dispersing the shock of the landing, but once she stood up she engaged the spin up feature of the minigun. Taking aim she engaged the trigger and bullets began to fly from the multiple barrels in a deadly spread.

It only took a few minutes to take care of the raiders closest to the building, but she could see more coming from the end of the street. Preston had provided some cover fire, but his rifle wouldn't have the range to hit anyone with accuracy at that distance. She figured she would let them get closer before engaging them to save them both some ammo.

As she watched them begin to approach she heard a loud bang from the end of the street. The raiders paused in surprise, and then cried out in panic as a metal grate suddenly exploded open, and a monster hopped out. She watched in horror as the giant lizard like creature ran at the raiders, eviscerating them with powerful swings of its giant claws.

"DEATHCLAW!" Preston's voice called out from the balcony, and she could see how the creature was given such an ominous name.

She hadn't moved since the deathclaw appeared, and she realized that she should have taken the time it was distracted with the raiders to move to one of the buildings on either side of the road for cover. The monstrous creature looked right at her from down the street before it began to charge at her. Panicking she pulled the trigger on her minigun and fired at the loping creature. The bullets hitting its hard hide didn't even slow it down, and she felt her heart sink as the creature closed in.

The deathclaw ran right up to her and reached out with one giant hand to grab her and lift her off her feet-power armor and all. She couldn't imagine the strength needed to lift a full set of power armor, and her horror grew as she got a clear look at the features of the creature.

Huge horns framed its pointed face, putting her in mind of a dragon from old fairytales. Large pointed teeth showed through like those of a crocodile, and it's large dark eyes glared at her before it threw her down at least twenty feet away from it. Without any shock absorbers on the torso of the frame she rattled around inside the armor painfully. On the display the torso was highlighted in red, showing critical damage to the piece. Getting up as quickly as she could she saw the creature begin to stalk towards her.

She had dropped her minigun when the deathclaw had picked her up, and all of her other weapons were either in the bag she left with Preston, or strapped to her belt inside the power armor. Considering that the bullets of the minigun had barely phased the giant creature she doubted it would even feel her 10mm handgun. It's hide was so thick the only weak spot she could think of would be its mouth or its eyes, and she didn't think she was a good enough shot to accurately hit the eye of a moving target. Plus it would mean leaving her power armor to reach her gun, and she was reluctant to do so for obvious reasons.

Preston was firing at the deathclaw now, distracting the monster momentarily as she gained her feet. She tried to think as fast as possible of a plan to kill the thing, but her mind kept circling to how she didn't want to leave her power armor. To accurately hit its eye she would need to be right in front of thing, and she couldn't get close enough unless she was in her armor; which she would have to leave to get her gun in the first place. Even if she did get her gun right in front of the thing there was no guarantee she could hit the eye.

Her mind buzzed in thought, and Preston's covering fire was no longer distracting the giant lizard. The creature looked at her, and that's when she thought of a plan. An awful, terrible, frightening plan, but it was the best she could come up with. She just needed the monster to pick her up again.

She ran at the deathclaw and threw all her weight into a tackle that caused the monster to stumble a few steps. She got in close again to deliver a punch with her armored hand to the beasts torso. She knew it wouldn't do any damage, but she needed the monster to try and create some distance by tossing her again.

A few more hits that were little more than irritating to the deathclaw her hopes were answered when a giant clawed hand once again wrapped around her armor. She initiated the lock release function as soon as she began to be lifted. Quickly crawling out and climbing _over_ the suit she reached for the giant proboscis still slipped through her belt. The monster was shocked as she appeared over the helmet of the power armor, but before it could react she lunged and stabbed the proboscis directly into its eye.

It hadn't gone very deep when the creature roared in pain and rage. It dropped the power armor so she quickly jumped to be standing on the monsters shoulders. She felt the claws of the creature begin the wrap around her when she put all her weight into thrusting the unlikely weapon all the way into the creature's brain. It fell heavily to the ground as all the muscles in its body went lax in death. She crashed to the ground with it, her body landing painfully on the old asphalt.

Rolling over onto her back she looked up at the blue sky as she breathed heavily. She couldn't believe that worked, couldn't believe that she had managed to kill the huge monster that was lying just a few feet away from her. She tried to regulate her breathing to try and get her racing heart under control. After a few minutes she stood back up and looked over the creature she had just killed. It was easily nine feet tall, and the claws on each hand were about a foot in length each. She shuddered at the thought of what those claws could do, and she turned away quickly as she saw the blood of the raiders still dripping off its hands.

She went back to the museum and was happy to see that everyone had moved to the lobby area, including Dogmeat. The dog ran over to her and she crouched down to ruffle his fur with her fingers.

"I'm glad you weren't out there with me boy. That monster was probably just a bit a bit tougher than what you could have handled." He gave her a playful bark as if responding to her teasing. She chuckled before she stood to stand by Preston.

"That was a pretty amazing display out there. I'm just glad you're on our side."

"The feelings mutual, Preston. I saw a few disintegrated raiders out there, so I'm just happy I'm not on the other side of your musket."

"Look, I know you didn't have to help us. Few people are willing to put themselves in danger for a stranger, but you really saved us. It's not much, but I want you to have this." He handed her a small pouch that jingled as it moved. Looking inside she quirked an eyebrow.

"Bottlecaps?" He looked confused for a moment before he chuckled.

"I forgot you're new to the Commonwealth. Bottlecaps are what we use as money. They last pretty much forever, and with how many Nuka-Colas that can still be scavenged there are still more entering people's pockets every day."

She shook her head in bemusement but accepted the 'money' gratefully. "Thank you Preston. I didn't do it for any reward, but I appreciate it."

"You've earned it. I've never seen someone take on a deathclaw the way you did. That's a story that will be told for quite a while I can tell you that."

"Well desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Ain't that the truth. You should come to Sanctuary with us. Mama Murphy says it's a safe place for us to settle down, and I wouldn't mind an extra gun protecting everybody on the way there."

"Sure Preston. I'm in." She gave a tight smile, unsure of how she felt about strangers in her old home. However, she knew they needed a place, and it wasn't like anybody else was using it.

Mama Murphy gave her a wide grin. "That's wonderful! But there's more to your destiny, isn't there? I've seen it. You're son's energy is out there. He's alive."

She was stunned silent. She hadn't mentioned her son to Mama Murphy, hadn't told them he was missing. The way the old woman was looking at her sent a small chill down her spine. She had never been one to believe in the supernatural, but now almost anything seemed possible.

"He's alive? Please, where is he? I have to know!"

"I can't see him…not clearly. But I can feel him out there. And I don't need the sight to tell you where to start looking. The great, green jewel of the Commonwealth, Diamond City. The biggest settlement around."

Any other information she tried to get out of Mama Murphy was met with the suggestion that she give the old woman some 'chems' later, which Preston protested immediately. Deciding it was time to go they began the short trek towards Sanctuary. She made sure to take anything useful off the raiders, and packed away a few more weapons in her bag for the rest of the group.

Sanctuary was only about a half hour walk away, and since she had already cleared the mole rats from the truck stop they didn't run into any issues on the way back. The group dispersed once they reached the middle of the neighborhood, everyone off to look for anything useful in the remains of the homes.

"This is a nice spot here," Preston said taking a look around. "I think we could really make this place a home. What do you think?"

"Yeah," she said wistfully. "I used to like living here. You know…before the war."

"What war? Wait…you mean the great war?"

She took in his baffled expression and chuckled to herself. "I was born over two hundred years ago. The vault kept us frozen, and I just woke up a little while ago."

"Damn! Did anyone else make it out?"

"Just my son. He was kidnapped, and you heard what Mama Murphy said. He's still alive, I just need to find him."

"I hope you find him. I really do."

"Thanks Preston. This place is a good place to settle down, and a lot of the homes are still standing-mostly. At least we'll have roofs over our heads."

She took a look around as the rest of the small group seemed to already be clearing away some debris from an old home. "One thing Preston. I know it might be selfish, but do you think you guys could leave that blue house over there alone? It…used to be mine, and I think I'm still trying to deal with the memories."

"Of course. I'll tell the rest that this has technically been your house for two hundred years. Wouldn't be right to try and take it from you; especially since you helped us get here in the first place."

She flashed a grateful smile before she walked away. Talking with Sturges she found that she could help pitch in and get this place set up to be a proper settlement. She found enough old mattresses in the old homes that could be cleaned up a bit to be usable, and there was already a small garden behind the yellow house across from hers with a few watermelons and gourds. She found a strange bush behind another house with a strange purple fruit on it. She was told it was called a 'Mutfruit', and completely edible. Planting a few of those next to the existing garden meant that with a little care their food supply would be growing.

When night fell everyone moved to the homes they had claimed for themselves, and she returned to hers. Now that she was alone she could finally process everything that had happened today. She let every emotion she had forced down today hit her all at once. She rushed out the kitchen door to vomit in the backyard with her hand braced on the corner of the house. Her stomach roiled as she thought of the people she killed today, how angry she had been. The mutated animals like the fucking mosquito and the rats, the monstrous deathclaw she had faced.

The stress from the day caused her to heave again, and what little she had eaten today was tossed back up to splatter on the ground. Dogmeat sat next to her and whined as she continued to dry heave for what felt like forever. Finally catching her breath she shakily walked back inside to collapse on the couch once again. Sobs shook her shoulders as the tears ran down her face. She had killed today, and while she may have saved some people it didn't change the fact she had done it because she was angry. She remembered the bright red blood against the pale gray of the aged asphalt, the leg completely blown off the body of the raider she had tossed in front of an exploding vehicle. She hadn't known it was going to blow up, but it was still her fault.

The raider that ran away from her. She might never forget how that woman had looked at her in fear and ran away. She had made someone fear for their lives because they had just witnessed her _killing_ five other people right in front of them. They had all been part of group so that woman had watched her kill her friends.

Then she thought of her desperate fight against the deathclaw. God, she had never seen anything like it in her life. It had picked up a half ton suit of armor and thrown it like it was nothing. In desperation she had crawled out of the protective suit and stabbed it in the eye. She shuddered as she remembered the wet squelching sound the proboscis had made as she pushed it into the creatures brain. She never wanted to do anything like that again.

A part of her wanted to just curl up on this sofa and never leave, but she knew come morning she would push her feelings down once again so that she could continue her journey to find Shaun. As long as she could keep her emotions in the background she could keep moving. At night when she was alone, that's when she could break down. As long as she could keep how she really felt hidden during the day she could function.

She stretched out on the sofa and cried herself to sleep for the second night in a row, with Dogmeat lying down in front of the sofa.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello there. I totally didn't mean for this chapter to be as long as it was, but I couldn't seem to find a good stopping point. This chapter still kind of follows events from the game while fleshing them out a bit, but after this chapters will be written by veering away from the game script. I can't keep looking up conversations, and I never intended to stick to the strict story line anyway.**

 **Also, thank you to the people who have favorited and followed this story so far. I know Fallout stories aren't usually too popular so I appreciate it that you guys like it enough to want to follow it.**

* * *

Her muscles strained as she struggled to pull the heavy sheet of scrap metal from the wreckage of an old home. Over the past five days she and Preston's group had systematically gone through most of the homes and scavenged anything useful before going through the process of cleaning up the collapsed structures scattered throughout the neighborhood. While the homes still standing technically had roofs overhead she had discovered that they leaked quite a bit when it rained.

She had pitched the idea of using the metal left from the collapsed houses to repair the roofs of a few homes for everyone to live in until they could get all the parts needed to build their own. No one had a problem bunking together as long as they could all stay dry while they slept. Collectively they decided to repair the house right across from hers first. It made sense since the workshop was right there, and the garden was right around the back of it as well.

Pulling the scrap metal completely free she leaned over to brace her hands against her knees while she regained her breath. Over her own labored breathing she heard the heavy thumps of power armor approaching from behind her. Turning around she saw Sturges come to a stop and pull the helmet off to give her a frown.

"Ma'am I told you that I could do all the heavy lifting since I'm the one in the power armor. Moving this scrap while I'm in here is nothin'."

She gave him a frown of her own. "We only have two more fusion cores for the suit. The less you have to do means the suit last longer. Carrying the metal over there and then placing it on the roof of the car port is enough for now."

"I know ma'am but I don't want you strainin' yourself any. The whole reason we went back to Concord for it was so that it would be easier to haul all this scrap."

"I'm fine Sturges. I like helping out with the construction, and I'm looking forward to you guys having an actual roof over your heads that doesn't leak."

Sturges have a sigh at that before flashing a small smile. "Alright, just don't overdo it. I'll be back in a few to help pull a few more sheets off before I think we can start welding all this together."

He picked up the sheet she had just pulled free and slowly made his way back to the yellow house. This was a good group of people here, and she was glad that if anyone was going to rebuild Sanctuary it would be these people. She had never gotten around to introducing herself, but everyone just started calling her ma'am the way Preston does so she left it alone. Only Mama Murphy called her 'kid', but given the women's age she didn't mind too much.

Dogmeat gave a soft bark from his place at her side and following his gaze she saw Preston approaching with a serious look on his face. She hurried to meet him halfway.

"What's wrong?" He gave a soft chuckle, but his face still look worried.

"Always looking to help, huh ma'am? I have a favor to ask you, if you don't mind that is."

"Not at all, Preston. What do you need?"

He studied her for a moment before nodding his head slightly at some internal decision. "I got word of another settlement that seems to be in trouble. They're looking for the Minutemen for help, but as far as I know I'm the only Minuteman left. I was wondering if you could go take a look for me; see what they need."

Part of her wanted to agree immediately. She had always felt the need to help people; it had been the biggest drive to become a lawyer. She wanted to help people who needed somebody on their side, and then joining the reserves had also fulfilled that desire for her. If it came that the country actually needed her she would go and protect it. Having Shaun had prevented her from being called to the front with the rest of the reserves, otherwise she would have been sent away for active duty.

The other part of her hesitated. Staying in Sanctuary had been safe. No monsters to fight, no people trying to kill her. She hated to admit that she was afraid to leave again, but she was. She had asked a lot of questions about what the world out there was like now, but all the stories couldn't prepare her for what it was really like. Every night she tried to talk herself into leaving to truly begin her hunt for Shaun, but fear held her back.

She struggled for a few moments, warring with herself about what to do before she just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Yes, I'd be glad to help out." She beat down the panic that arose immediately after she said it.

"That's great. The Commonwealth could use more people like you out there. I'll mark the location on your Pip-Boy. If we ever hope to rebuild the Minutemen people need to trust that we'll be there for them." Preston looked relieved as he punched in the coordinates on her map. She went back to her house to gather her duffel bag. She packed mostly ammo and medicine just in case, plus a few bottles of purified water. One thing she discovered was that even the trace amounts of radiation in the water didn't sit well with her system. She wondered if there was a way to slowly adapt her body to not immediately reject the small amount of radiation found in most foods and drinks.

Shaking her head to refocus her thoughts she looked down at Dogmeat who gave her a doggy grin as he looked up at her. "Ready to head out, boy?" He barked happily.

She gripped the handle of her 10mm attached at her waist tightly and nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Luckily the spot Preston sent her too was relatively close by. The only troubles along the way were more of the so called 'Bloatflies', and truthfully Dogmeat had been able to handle the disgusting thing on his own.

Standing on top of a small hill she looked down upon a large farm built underneath an old electrical tower. The farm house was an impressive structure, and the rows of what looked to be tomato plants were aligned neatly along the front.

She descended the small hill and made for the farm. There were three people she could see all working on the tomato plants, and as she walked up to the small corral that housed what she now knew was a 'Brahmin' the man of the group pulled a gun and pointed it at her.

"That's close enough stranger. We don't want any trouble."

She threw her hands up to show she was unarmed. "Easy there, I'm friendly. The Minutemen sent me to check on a request for help."

He put his gun down with a surprised look on his face. "The Minutemen? We sent that message, but we didn't really expect anyone to answer. My name's Blake Abernathy, over there is my wife Connie and my daughter Lucy. Sorry for the rude welcome, but we've had some trouble with some raiders recently."

"I'm sorry to hear that. The Minutemen are here to help however we can." She grimaced internally at the thought of more raiders.

"Thing is when the raiders came through my daughter Mary tried to stand up to'em. They shot her down without a second thought…she was only twenty one years old. When they left they took her locket with them; it's been in Connie's family for generations. Listen, I don't have much, but if you could get that locket back we would really appreciate it."

She clenched her fists at her sides. "I am so sorry to hear that. I know what it's like to lose a child." She looked him steadily in the eye. "I'll do whatever I can to get that locket back, I promise."

"Thank you. No one should know what that feels like."

He marked her map with the location he thought the raiders were coming from and she headed out immediately. She recognized this feeling, this anger. It was the same anger she had felt in Concord when she had killed for the first time. She knew it wasn't healthy, but she decided to hold onto this anger, let it fuel her actions so she could do what needed to be done. Let it drown out everything else, including fear.

This world didn't work the way she was used to. There was no justice system, no judges or juries to decide if someone was innocent or not. Now you either defended yourself or you died, and she decided that just like her old job, she would defend others who needed somebody on their side.

* * *

She snuck through the ruins of the satellite station. She had dealt with the raiders outside, and luckily she had noticed the traps at the base of the stairs before setting them off. The simple tripwire was easy to deactivate, and so far she had gone undetected. She had no idea how many raiders were down here, and the last thing she wanted was to try and take on a whole group with just her and Dogmeat.

She moved to stand behind a support pillar near the center of the room. There were two ways to go, and she was unsure if she wanted to try and go down the stairs on the right, or brave the hallway to the left. She caught the sound of soft, steady footsteps and she froze in place. Coming up the stairs was a single raider who stopped at the edge of the room. She hoped she was hidden enough by the pillar and shadows to go unnoticed, and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief when the man turned to go back down the stairs.

She took a few deep breaths before she dug around in her duffel to retrieve a fairly standard combat knife. This needed to be quiet and quick to avoid drawing any attention. She followed the man as quietly as she could; wondering if this was the raider who had killed Mr. Abernathy's daughter. She knew she would never know for sure which one had personally shot the poor young woman, but just thinking of the pain in the poor farmers eyes as he spoke of her made her want to take out every last one of them so they could never hurt anyone again.

She was only a few steps behind him when they came into view of a short hallway ending in a set of double doors open to a larger room beyond. She quickly struck her hand out and wrapped it around the man's mouth, muffling his surprised cry. She quickly dragged the knife across his throat and dragged his weakening body out of sight before he collapsed completely. She heard a few wrenching gargles issue from his throat before everything went silent. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath to calm herself. She listened for a few moments, but all she could make out were a few distant voices having a quiet conversation.

Confident that she hadn't alerted anyone yet she skulked forward, Dogmeat following quietly at her heel. He gave a soft growl as she approached the room and she quickly crouched behind a shallow corner. The voices got louder as the raiders moved closer to where she was hiding just around the corner. Had Dogmeat not warned her she would have out in the open and easily spotted. She gave him a grateful scratch behind one ear before she focused back on voices just beyond the doorway.

There were at least three people, and she grit her teeth as she realized they were talking about their next raid on the small little farm called Tenpines Bluff she passed though on the way here. It was just a small farm with a couple just trying to make a spot for themselves. They had mentioned that they had seen some raiders nearby, but they hadn't mentioned any direct conflict with them. She was just glad she was going to take care of them before they caused any trouble for the small settlement.

Taking a quick glance around the corner she felt her stomach drop as she saw one of the raiders carrying a minigun. She was going to have to take that one out fast or she'd be nothing but a pile of minced meat on the floor. She pulled out her 10mm and quietly checked the clip. Keeping her knife in her left hand she raised the gun in her right. There was a small piece of rubble at her feet so she kicked it out into the darkened hallway.

"Wait…what was that?" She heard the sounds of weapons being drawn as the noise grabbed their attention.

"Don't just stand there, go check it out."

"It's probably just Hal coming back from his patrol," a tall, gangly raider stepped right past her into the hallway with his weapon drawn. "Hey Hal! That you man?"

She aimed and pulled the trigger, the gunshot seeming excessively loud in the confined space. Blood practically erupted from the man's head from the force of the bullet slamming into his skull. She heard the remaining raiders cry out and the footsteps as one of them rushed towards the doorway. Standing up she stabbed out just as the raider stepped out from the doorway. She caught them right in their chest, and using the knife she anchored the helpless raider in place as she fired her gun again. The dead raider fell at her feet and she quickly stepped over the body to face the minigun wielding raider.

"You made a big mistake!" The raider backed up in panic despite his words, and she caught the distinctive whine of the gun's barrels spinning up. She fired two shots, hoping to get a quick clean shot to the head. Her luck didn't hold that well, but she did manage to shoot his right shoulder which caused him to fumble the unwieldy gun enough that the bullet spray went far to her right.

Dogmeat ran past her with a snarl and jumped to latch onto the man's other arm. The raider lost his hold completely and the minigun dropped heavily to the floor. She ran in just as the raider shook Dogmeat free and kicked out at him. She rushed over and went for a vicious slash with her knife that he dodged at the last second. The wind left her lungs as he managed to land a solid punch to her gut. Using the opening he had gained he kicked her back and she fell to the ground.

She looked up as he pulled a pipe pistol out of his belt and aimed at her. She tried to lift her own pistol, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get it up in time to get off the first shot. Her eyes widened as Dogmeat leaped back at the man and latched onto the man's arm which caused him to pull the trigger.

"AAARGHH!" It felt like fire had been laid across the side of her face and into her hairline. Her hands instinctively reached up to the cause of the pain, but she jerked them back when the pressure only caused more fire to spread across her face. Looking down she saw her hand had a good bit of blood on it, and she could begin to feel it drip down her cheek to land on the floor.

She took deep breaths to try and push down the pain. The bullet had only grazed her, but it had left a deep furrow along the cheek below her right eye. Gritting her teeth she forced herself to stand. The raider was pinned under Dogmeat as the canine viciously bit into his arm and shook him side to side. She snatched up her fallen pistol and stomped over to the fallen man.

"Dogmeat, off." She had no idea if the dog actually knew any commands, but at the sound of her voice the canine let go of the raider and came to stand at her side again. Pointing her gun at his chest she met his stare as his eyes widened as he realized his position. She squeezed the trigger, felt her arm jerk from the recoil, and the last raider lay dead on the ground.

Her chest heaved for air as she tried to get her heartbeat to slow. The adrenaline was beginning to leave her system and she felt the shakiness in her limbs as it did. She walked over to a wall and slid her back down it until she was sitting with her legs straight out in front of her. Dogmeat whined slightly as he sniffed at her face, but he didn't try to look at the wound; which she was eternally grateful for.

"You really saved me there boy," she said softly as she pet his thick slightly coarse fur. They sat there for a while in silence, before she stood up and took a look at the general messiness of the space. She looked down at her canine companion.

"Soo…think you can find that locket?"

* * *

She left Tenpines Bluff feeling much lighter; both figuratively and literally. Before they left the satellite array she had scavenged everything she could carry, including the minigun the raider had dropped. She had hauled the thirty pound weapon and the extra ammo the raider had on his body back to Tenpines, and when she informed the couple that she was giving the massive weapon to them they were stunned.

They were much too open to attacks where they were, and she told them she would feel better if they had the firepower to make any raiders think twice about approaching. They had accepted the gift gratefully, and once they knew she had cleared out the nearby raider camp they told her that if she ever needed anything that they would do what they could to help.

Walking was much easier now that she didn't have to lug an oversized hunk of metal across the wasteland, and her steps were also a little lighter from having helped out those settlers at least a little bit.

It was just turning dark when she made it back to the Abernathy farm, and she knocked politely on the door as she waited for someone to answer. The wooden door creaked open to reveal Blake standing in the doorframe with a surprised expression on his face. She flashed him a wry grin as she held up the locket.

"You won't have to worry about those raiders from now on."

Almost reverently he reached out to grab the locket. "I can't believe you actually got it back. You Minutemen sure work fast. From now on whatever the Minutemen need, you just let us know. We have a decent work shop here, and Connie'll go a little lighter on prices for you guys if you come this way."

They spoke a little bit more about the farm, but soon enough she was walking back towards Sanctuary. Her cheek still burned, but it was no longer bleeding. Until she saw it for herself she didn't want to waste a Stimpak on it, and she didn't mind letting nature do it's healing the old natural way.

Only about a half hour later she was crossing the broken bridge into the dilapidated neighborhood. Walking towards home she saw that everyone was gathered in front of the yellow house, and she smiled as she saw the progress that had been made while she was gone. Sturges was out of the power armor now, but he was busy on top of the roof welding what looked to be the final piece of metal down to the old frame.

He stood up and flicked off his blowtorch. "Alright folks! I think that about does it."

"It looks great Sturges!"

The settlers hadn't noticed her walk up so her sudden call caused everyone to jump almost comically. She choked down a chuckle and simply waved at the group.

Preston immediately noticed the furrow along her cheek, but she tried to brush it off as much as she could. She told him that two settlements seemed to be on board with the Minutemen, and she watched as his eyes lit up with true happiness. He truly believed in the Minutemen, and seeing even a little faith restored in the name obviously meant a lot to the man.

"That's great news! I knew you were the right person for the job. I have something else to ask you, but first I think it's time I tell you what happened that left me the last active Minuteman in the Commonwealth."

"You can take your time," she said gently. She had heard bits and pieces over the past few days, but had yet to hear the full story. "I understand that it's a tough subject."

"It started when we lost the Castle, our old headquarters. Something attacked the base and we had to abandon it. With the chain of command broken we just fell apart. General Becker was dead and no one could agree who would take his place. When Gunners attacked Quincy my group was the only one that responded. Everyone else turned their backs on us. I became in charge of the survivors, and we've been searching for a place to settle ever since."

She reached out and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "That's quite the story Preston. I know that it's been…tough, to say the least. But you never gave up on these people. As long as you don't give up the Minutemen will come back someday."

He gave her a look that was equal parts gratitude and almost pleading. "I can't protect the whole Commonwealth by myself. Hell, I could barely protect these people. I can't rebuild the Minutemen…but I think you can."

"W-what?" Her brain practically stuttered at his words.

"You're not like other people in the Commonwealth. You actually care about people, you cared that we were still getting rained on in these houses enough to come up with an idea to keep us all dry. Then just today you went out of your way to supply a settlement that hadn't even asked for your help. I think you're the best person for the job; if you'll take it."

Her mind whirred. She hadn't done anything worth mentioning since she thawed out. Helping this group when they asked for help was completely natural and anyone would have come up with a solution to keep the rain out of these old, ruined houses.

As her mind processed his request she found herself trying to come up with a way to turn him down. She had almost opened her mouth to reject the offer immediately, but a part of her made her hesitate. She had just decided today that she actually wanted to help protect people who didn't necessarily have the mean to do it themselves. She had taken out one raider camp, and here Preston was asking her to help rebuild an entire organization to protect the people.

She told herself it was crazy, but a part of her liked the idea of being able to help people on a larger scale. She could have a purpose beyond trying to find Shaun. She could make this world a better place for him.

"A-alright, I'll do it." She pushed aside her misgivings and decided to just enjoy the massive smile Preston gave her.

"Good, that's excellent! I have a feeling this is the start of a whole new chapter for the Minutemen, and the Commonwealth. I'll be with you every step of the way…General."

"That's really kind of…wait, General?!"

He just flashed a grin.

* * *

 _One week later_

She made her way carefully into the city she used to know. Most buildings stood empty and broken, but she was pleasantly surprised that the majority of the old brick constructions were still standing. It made her wonder why people hadn't tried to simply barricade off a few streets and live in the actual buildings, but she figured there must be a good reason that people had decided to build a whole other city _inside_ of Fenway Stadium.

She had spent the past week preparing to travel into the city. She didn't know how long she would be gone so she wanted to make sure that there was a reliable line of communication between the settlements that had joined the Minutemen. So far it was just Sanctuary, Abernathy Farm, and Tenpines Bluff, but she wanted a reliable way to share resources and information. She had decided that they would set up the Red Rocket truck stop as a trading outpost for all three settlements. While they were all close enough to travel directly to each settlement she wanted at least one place that all the settlements could access collectively that was within easy reach.

A few wanderers had found their way to Sanctuary, and she decided that they would run the trading outpost. Sanctuary provided a lot of extra scrap to the other two settlements, and they in turn provided mostly food. There were still a few kinks to work out, but overall it seemed that everyone was fairly happy with the set up. She gave them the freedom to make any changes if needed while she was gone, and the wanderers were happy to have a place to call their own.

She tensed slightly as she could hear gunfire in the distance, but she had been warned that the sound of gunshots was ever present in the city. She was running dangerously low on supplies, and she had forgone a lot of scavenging along the way to avoid unnecessary conflict. She needed to restock, and the best place to do that was apparently Diamond City.

Diamond City was also the only lead she had in finding Shaun. Everyone she had spoken to had pointed her towards the old ball park-mainly because it was the biggest settlement around. She couldn't believe that a city that used to house millions of people was reduced almost to the amount of people that could fit inside Fenway Stadium. It was almost horrendous that humanity had reduced itself by such a staggering amount.

As she moved further into the city she began to see crude signs marking the path to Diamond City, and she smirked as she instead took a back alley rather than follow the signs.

"I lived here my whole life," she said to Dogmeat who happily trotted at her side. "I know almost every back way to everywhere." He barked as if in agreement.

Ten minutes later she was cursing herself as they ran up the broken stairwell of a mostly collapsed building; bullets chasing them every step.

"Maybe those signs marked the _safest_ path, and not the quickest," she called to Dogmeat as they made it up to a landing that had walls they could hide behind.

Her heart beat painfully inside her chest. She had walked right into a group of monstrous humanoid creatures that apparently wanted nothing more than to 'bathe in her blood' as one creature called at her. The fear these things caused her was something she had only felt with the Deathclaw, and that was saying something. From what she could hear they weren't too intelligent, but smart enough to handle weapons. The sheer size of them and their muscles made her dread facing one head to head.

She pulled out her laser musket from her duffel-she had run out of ammo for the 10mm days ago- and she quickly turned the crank five times. She had a feeling she would need all the firepower she could get to take down one of the guys. Dogmeat growled as heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs and she gripped her musket even tighter as she kept her eyes on the stair.

One of the creatures appeared from the stairwell, its yellow greenish skin standing out starkly in the sunlight pouring into the space. It was clutching a board of some kind with nails poked through it at different points. She shuddered as she saw that there were… _bits_ left on the board from whatever this things previous victim was.

Coming out from behind her cover she was close enough that the end of the barrel of her gun was just a few inches away from its face. She fired the gun and the creature stumbled back with a cry. She felt the dread sink in even more as the large creature seemed to just shrug off a blast to its face _at point blank range._ Dogmeat lunged forward as she turned the crank another five turns and put it back in the monsters face. Again it merely shook its head and raised its board to smash it down on Dogmeat.

Seeing that her dog was in about to be bludgeoned by this thing she did something she promised herself she would never do again. She charged right at the large creature and tackled it, sending them both down the stairs it had been standing on. They crashed to the bottom in a heap, and she got awful flashbacks of claws wrapping around her torso in preparation of throwing her as the large mutant gripped her around her neck and slammed her into the ground. Once, twice, three times and she felt as if her lungs would never take oxygen in again as the air was forced out of them with each impact.

After coming face to face with the Deathclaw she had promised that she would never purposefully get that close to something trying to kill her again, and yet here she was on the floor with black spots dancing in her vision as her lungs struggled to take a breath while a huge mutant screamed into her face.

"I'M GOING TO GRIND YOUR BONES INTO DUST!"

Luckily Dogmeat came bounding down the stairs after them and immediately launched himself at the creature presently doing his best to uphold his promises of bone grinding. With the creature distracted by the dog latched onto its arm she was able to recover enough to get a deep lungful of air into her system. The first breath hurt like hell as her abused airways struggled to work properly. She quickly reached down to pull her combat knife from the sheath she had affixed to her lower calf. She sat up, and using both hands she drove the knife into the side of the creatures head.

It felt like she had stabbed mostly hardened concrete, but the knife did sink down into the mutants brain. It fell lifeless to the ground, and she sat there continuing to take big gasps of air. Her heart still hammering in her chest she quickly scrambled to get her musket which had been knocked a few feet away during the fall. There had been four of these creatures, and the other three would have surely caught up by now.

Cranking the weapon up she tried to hear anything above the loud pounding of her heart in her ears. Finally she noticed the sounds of gunfire just outside the building. Going to a hole in the wall she peered warily outside. Two of the remaining creatures were exchanging gunfire with three people dressed in what looked like old baseball gear. The humans were wearing baseball helmets and catcher pads as they fought, and seeing the third mutant on the ground lifeless showed that they were winning.

She and Dogmeat ran back down to the street and made their way to the small battle site. Coming up from behind the monsters she decided that if she could take out at least one of them then the others could focus fire on the remaining mutant. Gripping her knife securely she moved until she was standing directly behind one of the giant creatures. Using the same tactic as before she used both hands and lifted the knife high above her head before swinging it back down into the back of the monsters head. She made sure to put all of her body weight behind the blow to make sure the blade pierced the thick skull.

Yanking the knife out as the monster fell noisily to the ground; she quickly sheathed it and re-drew her musket. Making sure it was cranked she fired at the last monster. Together with the other three people she fired as fast as possible at the last mutant. It would roar out in defiance after every hit, but eventually the constant barrage of bullets and laser fire brought it down with one final cry of anger and pain.

She slung her musket across her back before she rested her hands on her knees. Closing her eyes tightly she focused on breathing in and out as she calmed her heart rate.

"That was some fight, stranger."

Straightening up she saw the padded men were now standing in front of her looking pleased with themselves.

"What the hell were those things?" They looked at her as if she was crazy, but she had been getting a lot of those looks lately and was able to brush it off.

"You've never heard of Super Mutants? Where have you been living, under a rock?" The one who had spoken received a slap to the back of his head. "Can't you see the jumpsuit? She's from a vault."

She smirked at the group. "So yes, technically I have been living under a rock."

After they had introduced themselves as Diamond City guards their choice of apparel made a lot more sense. They had heard the commotion while they were patrolling and had decided to check it out. They escorted her back to the main path to Diamond City, and she gratefully continued on her way with no further incidents.

She passed through the makeshift fence that separated the main entrance from the street and she smiled when she saw the old baseball statue still stood outside. Back when she and Nate had begun dating she had waited for him by leaning against this very plinth. She was jerked out of her musings by a shout. She turned and raised her eyebrow as she saw a woman in a red trench coat waving her arms and yelling at an intercom.

"You open this door _right now_ Danny Sullivan! I live here! You can't just lock me out."

She chuckled softly to herself. At least that strong Bostonian attitude hadn't been destroyed in the war as well. She walked up as the woman sighed and turned around. The woman's dark hazel eyes widened when she saw her, and then suddenly a soft smirk appeared on her face. The woman leaned in conspiratorially.

"Hey you," she stage whispered. "You want in to Diamond City?"

"Uh…yes?" She said slowly, confused as to how this woman was going to get her inside if she was locked out.

"Shh! Just play along," her voice got much louder. "What's that? You're a trader up from Quincy? You have enough scrap to keep the general store stocked for a whole month?!"

She grinned when she realized what the woman was doing. The woman gave her a 'wait' signal with her hand before she flashed a quick wink at her.

"You hear that Danny? You gonna let us in or are you gonna be the one to talk to crazy Myrna about losing out on all this supply?"

"Geez, alright!" came the exasperated response. "No need to make it personal Piper."

They grinned at each other as a loud metal grinding sound came from the big metal door.

"C'mon we better get inside before Danny catches on."

They ducked underneath the door and hurried inside. They didn't get very far when a portly man in a yellow suit stopped in front of Piper with a furious expression.

"Who let you back inside! You devious slanderer! The amount of lies in that paper of yours…I'll have that old printer scrapped for parts!"

"Oooh, is that a statement Mcdonough? 'Tyrant Mayor throws free speech in the dumpster!'"

Piper turned to her with an emphatic wave of her hand. "Why don't we ask the newcomer? Do you support the news? Cuz' the Mayor sure doesn't seem to believe in supporting the truth!"

Even if Piper hadn't helped her get in earlier this was an easy answer. "Always believed in freedom of the press."

The mayor turned to her and coughed awkwardly. "I'm sorry I didn't intend to bring you into this argument miss. No…you look just like Diamond City material!"

She prided herself on having the restraint to not roll her eyes. The mayor was obviously trying way too hard to be charismatic and likable.

"Now, what brings you to our great city?"

She sighed as she explained her missing son. Piper chimed in by steering her clear of Diamond City security before tearing into the mayor about why city security never seemed to look into cases about missing people. The Mayor was stumbling over his words and was getting quite flustered by Piper's shakedown, and she decided to take advantage of it.

"I'm sure the Mayor of a great city like this one must know everyone. Who can help me?"

As predicted the mayor perked right back up at the chance to gain a little control in the conversation, while also responding to the stroking of his ego.

"Well…there is Nick Valentine. He's a detective of sorts who specializes in tracking people down. I'm sure he can help you with your case."

The mayor left shortly after that, and Piper turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm impressed. Not many people can claw information out of McDonough like that. Look, I have to go get settled in, but stop by Publick Occurrences after you speak with Nick." Piper eyed her up and down for a moment before flashing a confident grin. "I have an idea for a story that you'd be perfect for."

She watched Piper walk away in bemusement. She reached down to ruffle Dogmeat's ears a bit as she looked around the entrance of the old stadium. The old ticket booths were converted into makeshift guard posts, and she was kind of impressed with the set up. "Humans are nothing if not resilient boy," she said softly to the dog. He just panted happily at the continued ear scratching.

Her first look at the entirety of Diamond City was astounding. Human ingenuity was alive and well apparently, and the scrap metal structures confined with the walls of the stadium gave off the feeling of seclusion. Bits of plywood and pallets marked off a rough walkway, and she was impressed that even the top stands had been utilized into functional space. Old busses and trailers had been dragged inside at some point to create extra housing.

Making her way through the crowded market place she couldn't help but marvel at the infrastructure that had been added. It really was its own city- even if she was used to a much different type of city. Nick Valentine's office was located down a narrow 'street' and was marked by a simple neon sign with a heart and arrow.

Unfortunately, her good mood quickly lessened when she met Nick's assistant Ellie. Apparently, Nick had taken a dangerous case and had been missing ever since. She battled down the feelings of frustration and disappointment to get a few details about the case from the frazzled, distraught woman. She couldn't wait around for Nick to come back, and it sounded like he might be in some trouble anyway. She needed to know if he was dead or not so she could find an alternate way to track down Shaun.

Feeling much more dejected than before she left the office and meandered the streets of Diamond City. Finally stopping at the makeshift restaurant in the center of the market place she bought a cup of noodles from the robot manning the shop. She just sat there and watched the people inside the city as she ate her food. There were shops set up inside old dugout shacks, and a few children ran by every so often playing tag.

The constant noise meant that it wasn't as peaceful as Sanctuary, but there was peace to be found in how easy it was disappear in a city. She could sit here in peace and just watch life go on around her, and she didn't have to worry about raiders or monsters showing up at any moment. In here people were too busy to worry about who the new person was, and for the most part she was ignored.

Her eyes scanned over to one of the first buildings she crossed getting into the city. Publick Occurrences was a decent sized building, and the large light up sign marking the buildings name was actually quite impressive. She saw a young girl standing on top of a box handing out papers to curious citizens. She smiled at the thought that even today there could be paper girls, and she was intrigued by the reporter who had written a story so controversial that even the _mayor_ had tried to lock her out.

Remembering that Piper had told her to stop by she got up from her stool and made her way over and knocked on the door. A few moments later and the door opened to reveal the trench coat wearing journalist. Piper grinned at her before practically dragging her inside. The space inside was fairly large, but dim and bare. She knew the apocalypse probably didn't give people a lot of time to worry about decorating, but the space didn't really look like a home. Just like her old house in Sanctuary it looked more like just a place to sleep and put your few meager belongings.

"I'm glad you decided to stop by. How you holding up, Blue?"

"Blue?" She asked in confusion. Piper just gave her a droll look.

"Y'know, because of the blue jumpsuit and Pip-boy? That fish out of water look is classic vault dweller."

She shrugged as she thought it over. "I guess it's just as good as anything. At least it's something besides Ma'am." Piper just chuckled.

"So here's the deal. I want an interview; you're whole story. I think it's time that Diamond City got a little outside perspective on the Commonwealth." Piper studied her for a moment before seeming to come to some kind of conclusion. "You do the interview for me and…I'll, uh, come with you. Watch your back as you get used to life above ground. No offense to the dog of course."

She raised an eyebrow at the offer. She couldn't tell if Piper was just saying that to get the interview or if she really meant it. She slowly nodded her head. "Sure Piper. I'm in."

"Great! Now I know you're from a vault, but how would you describe your time on the inside?"

"My family and I were…frozen. I didn't actually spend much time in the vault." Technically it was true. To her she hadn't spent more than an hour in there where she hadn't been frozen.

"Wait…so they just boxed you up in a fridge?" Piper's eyes widened. "The whole time!? Are you saying you were alive before the war?"

"I was born over two hundred years ago." She grimaced. "And saying that just made me feel so old."

Piper just looked like she had come across buried treasure. "Oh my God," she breathed. "The Woman Out of Time. So, you've seen the Commonwealth and Diamond City. How do they compare to your old life."

She took a minute to think on her answer. "Honestly, seeing everyone out here rebuilding everything? It gives me…hope."

"That's surprisingly inspired Blue. I'm definitely quoting that. Now I know you came here looking for someone. Who is it?"

"My son, Shaun. He was kidnapped; he's not even a year old."

"Do you think the Institute is involved?"

"What's the Institute?"

Piper seemed surprised that she didn't know. "I can go into all of that later, but usually when things go bad in the Commonwealth it's because the Institute did something. They make synthetic people, and sometimes they replace people with synthetic doppelgangers."

"It…certainly sounds like they could have had something to do with it."

Piper's eyes narrowed in anger. "And people don't understand why I can't just look away."

The reporter seemed to be lost in her own thoughts before she shook her head as if to clear it.

"Let's take a little break. There are a few more things I want to ask before we end this, but I don't think waiting a few minutes would hurt anything."

She nodded and Piper gestured for her to sit on the couch. "I'll grab us some Nuka-Cola. Just hold on a minute and I'll be right back." With that the reporter walked out the front door and closed it with a noisy rattle. Leaning back on the couch she looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Dogmeat set his head on her knees and she stroked the soft fur in his head.

Now that it was quiet and she didn't have to be moving she began to notice things that she had been shoving to the back of her mind. Her body ached all over from the fight with the Super Mutants, and her disappointment at discovering the only lead she had to finding Shaun was missing himself was quickly overtaking her mind. The world must be playing some kind of joke at her expense. Her son was missing, but the only person she knew of that could find him was also missing. How ironic was it that she had to go find and rescue Nick Valentine just to he could go find and rescue her son?

She tried to get her emotions under control again; Piper would be back any minute and she did not want to take her bad mood out on the blameless journalist. She tried to think of her emotions like Diamond City. Enclosed behind thick walls where they were untouchable by outside interference. Yes, her emotions had to be just like this city.

Contained and locked tight.


End file.
